THE OUTLOOK FOR IRON 



BY 

JAMES FURMAN KEMP 

Columbia University 


FROM THE SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1916, PAGES 289-309 






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(Publication 2460) 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1917 


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THE OUTLOOK FOR IRON 


BY 

JAMES FURMAN KEMP 

> t 

Columbia University 


FROM THE SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1916, PAGES 289-309 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1917 






































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* . * 



























THE OUTLOOK FOR IRON. 1 * * 


By Prof. James Furman Kemp, 
Columbia University. 


The close of the nineteenth century produced an attitude of mind 
in many students of national affairs akin to that of a merchant who 
balances his books at the end of a twelvemonth. When the results 
of a year’s business have been demonstrated, the merchant decides 
on his plans and policies for the future. He makes a reliable esti¬ 
mate of his resources and lea ms his possibilities and his limitations. 
As a nation which looked over a hundred years instead of one year, 
we were in much the same position when the twentieth century 
opened. 

From small beginnings, all manner of industries had reached an 
impressive development. ' Some employed materials which were con¬ 
stantly reproduced either by plants or animals, and which, by im¬ 
proved methods, could be increased in amount; but other industries 
were rapidly drawing upon fixed reserves which could not be re¬ 
newed. We naturally began to forecast the future and, with a look 
ahead, to infer the course of events in the century then opening. 
Among the industries, that of mining came in for special attention. 
It is a very great one in this country, and it is distinctive in that it 
destroys its raw materials in utilizing them. Forests, crops and live 
stock all grow again. Ore and coal mined are gone forever. Not un¬ 
naturally, in a fundamental industry such as iron mining—one on 
which so many others rest,—people vitally interested began to raise 
the question of reserve for the future and to wonder in what position 
the industry would find itself fifty or a hundred years later. We are 
not surprised, therefore, to note that open expression was given to 
feelings of apprehension, nor that some prophecies were made whose 
restatement now possesses much interest. Not alone, however, in 
our own country were these apprehensions felt. Abroad, they like¬ 
wise found expression, especially in England, wdiose people had been 
roused for years regarding the future of their coal fields. 

In October, 1902, Mr. Andrew 7 Carnegie, one of our most distin¬ 
guished ironmasters, v r as installed as rector of the University of 


1 Reprinted by permission from Contributions from the Geological Department, Columbia 

University, Vol. 27, No. 1. 


2S9 





290 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1016. 

St. Andrews, Scotland. lie delivered a very interesting address in 
which he stated that if the rate of consumption of iron ore in the 
United States did not greatly increase, we would have a supply of 
first-class iron ore for only 60 or 70 years and of second-class for 30 
years longer. Mr. Carnegie estimated our demonstrated store of 
unmined ore at 1,000,000,000 tons. The consumption, at that time, 
was between twenty-five and thirty millions of tons annually. All 
persons well informed upon mining matters would infer that the 
mining of a billion tons, now demonstrated, would reveal appreciably 
more; and while a billion tons divided by 25 gives a life of 40 years, 
60 or 70 years was a not unreasonable figure. Yet this period is a 
relatively short one and the forecast justifies anxiety. Since Mr. 
Carnegie’s address was delivered, the annual output of ore has 
doubled, and, unless relieved by other considerations, whatever ap¬ 
prehensions were justified then are twice as emphatic now. 

In 1895, from three different spokesmen came prophecies similar 
to those of Mr. Carnegie. Sir Robert A. Hadfield, whose words re¬ 
garding the iron and steel industry should carry as great weight as 
any man’s, in a presidential address to the British Iron and Steel 
Institute 1 forecasts the call of the world’s furnaces upon the mines 
at the outset of the new century, and upon the basis of known re¬ 
serves also gave good ground for apprehension. In the same year, 
the late Prof. Tornebohm, long the chief of the Swedish Geological 
Survey and with special experience in iron ores, made a report to the 
Parliament of Sweden, based on a visit to this country. 2 At this 
time the Swedish Government was actively sharing in the develop¬ 
ment of the great bodies of iron ore in Lapland, far within the Polar 
Circle. The importance of knowing the part which they might play 
in the world’s iron industry of the future was great, and the deter¬ 
mination of the limits of annual output was a matter in which the 
Swedish authorities felt a lively interest. 

Prof. Tornebohm credited the Mesabi Range with half a billion 
tons; the other Lake Superior ranges, collectively, with as much 
more; and the Eastern brown hematites with 60,000,000. This total 
of a little over a billion tons gave cause for anxiety, since the out¬ 
put in 1905 of American mines had risen beyond forty millions, 
and a life of 25 years was thus indicated. But, of course, a moment’s 
reflection shows that the estimates are incomplete, since the Clinton 
ores of the East, and especially of Alabama, are omitted entirely. 

In the same year, 1905, the late Prof. N. S. Shaler sought to rouse 
his countrymen to an appreciation of the situation with regard to 
the mining industry in a paper of a popular nature on “The Ex- 


1 Proceedings, 1905, I., 27, and especially 86-60. 

2 Reprinted in the Iron Age, Nov. 2 , 1905. 



OUTLOOK FOR IRON—KEMP. 


291 


haustion of the World’s Supply of Metals.” 1 Prof. Shaler, in gen¬ 
eral terms, considers the supply of ores of all sorts remaining to us 
as, roughly, twenty times the amount already mined. He thinks 
another century will exhaust the European supplies of iron ore. 
Idle best place for the iron industry is in the Mississippi Valley, 
and the ores tributary to it are passed in review without definite 
figures, except for Alabama, to whose Clinton red hematites a life of 
50 years is assigned. 

Other papers preceded, accompanied or followed the four specially 
cited and of these a list is given at the close of this contribution. 
They can not all be mentioned now, and the ones briefly reviewed 
will suffice to show the apprehensive state of the public mind, here 
and elsewhere, from 10 to 15 years ago. 

As a symptom of the widespread interest and as a natural step to 
prevent waste and to maintain as long as possible the material sup¬ 
ports of industries, the conservation movement sprang up in this 
country. It has taken form in annual conventions and discussions, 
and has been influential in matters of legislation. Outside the 
American boundaries, similar steps have been taken. Reports of the 
Canadian Conservation Commission regularly reach us. 

In connection with conservation in general, iron ore has been one 
of the chief subjects to be considered, and we are not surprised 
to find our Swedish colleagues, as soon as they were assured at the 
International Geological Congress held in Mexico City, in 1906, 
that their invitation for the meeting of 1910 would be accepted, 
began to plan a great work on the “ Iron Ore Resources of the 
World.” Iron mining is one of the chief, if not the chief, single 
industry in Sweden. The subject, therefore, possessed great local 
as well as international importance. The associated authors in all 
lands began to busy themselves at once wfith data and estimates of 
reserves. A year after the movement had been started by the 
Swedish committee and by its representative in this country, a 
special investigation of American iron ore reserves was also initiated 
under the United States Geological Survey wdth Dr. C. W. Hayes in 
charge of the collection of data. The result of these endeavors led 
to the preparation of as complete estimates as were practically pos¬ 
sible. 2 They will be mentioned and utilized later on. 

Before we can actually undertake a discussion of the future, 
we must have clearly before us several matters of vital import. We 
must know the large features of production in the United States as a 
whole and in the more important individual districts. We need to 

i International Quarterly, vol. 2, 230-247, 1905. 

»C. W. Hayes, Bull. 394, U. S. G. S., 70-114, 1909. 





292 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1916. 

briefly trace the progress of production during recent years. We 
need further to know what the general run of working percentages 
has been and to answer the questions: Is the yield per ton declining 
as the years pass, and are we content now to treat ores of lower 
grade than were our fathers? How do our ores compare in yield 
with those of foreign productive areas? We can not overlook the 
vital bearing of our suppty of coking coal—a factor in present iron 
metallurgy not inferior to ore supply itself. We must consider 
sources of ore outside the United States and yet so situated as to 
contribute to our furnaces. We must also consider present, or rea¬ 
sonably certain future improvements in processes of smelting. No 
horoscope for the future can be cast without attaching due weight 
to all these factors. 

The growth in the production of iron ore in the United States has 
been so great as to be the chief cause of anxiety for the future. The 
tabulation of a few figures, using a million long tons as the unit, 
will make the matter clear. Extended statistics are not necessary. 
I am extremely anxious that the great striking truths should not be 
lost in a maze of figures. The statistics are taken from the Mineral 
Resources of the United States Geological Survey. Detailed figures 
are not attainable for 1888 and earlier years, except in those in w r hich 
a census was taken. 

In the years before the Civil War the production was small, but 
shortly after peace was restored the Lake Superior mines began to 
assume greater and greater importance, and later Alabama developed 
its mining and smelting industry. 


Statistics in millions of long tons. 



United 

States 

total. 

Lake 

Superior. 

Alabama. 

Other 

Eastern 

States. 

Western 

States. 

I860. 

2.8 





1870. 

3.8 

0.8 




1875. 

4.0 

0.8 




1880. 

7.1 

1.9 

0.17 

5.2 

0.00 

1882. 

8.7 

2.9 



0 05 

1884. 

7.7 

2.5 



0.02 

1886. 

10.0 

3.5 



1888. 

12.0 

5.0 



0 03 

1890. 

16.0 

8.98 

1.90 

4.96 

0.19 

1892. 

16.2 

9.50 

2.31 

4.24 

0.15 

1894. 

11.8 

7.60 

1.49 

2.70 

0.29 

1896. 

16.0 

10.50 

2.04 

3.10 

0. 26 

1898. 

19.4 

13.8 

2. 40 

2.84 

0.37 

1900. 

27.5 

20.50 

2.75 

3.75 

0.54 

1902. 

35.5 

27.05 

3.57 

4.30 

0.65 

1904. 

27.6 

20. 30 

3.70 

3.28 

0.36 

1906. 

47.7 

37.80 

3.99 

4.91 

0.80 

1908. 

35.9 

28.10 

3.70 

3.50 

0.52 

1910. 

56.8 

46. 30 

4.80 

4.80 

0.80 

1912. 

55.1 

46. 40 

4.60 

3.10 

0.90 

1914. 

42.0 

32.91 

























































OUTLOOK FOR IRON-KEMP. 


293 


GENERAL PROGRESS OF PRODUCTION. 

By these figures a modest but steady growth in the production 
of iron ore is shown up to 1884. A marked increase then developed, 
which subsequent figures will show ivas chiefly due to the entrance 
of the Gogebic and Vermilion Ranges. A rapid growth followed to 
1890; and then production held steady, or, as in 1894, temporarily 
dropped back during panic times. Following 1896, the growth was 
very marked and was chiefly due to the Mesabi Range. Hard times 
checked it in 1904, in 1908, and again in 1914. No industry is more 
sympathetic with general business conditions than is the production 
of iron and steel. 

The figures also show that the great increase in output is due to 
the growth of the industry in the Lake Superior region. Without 
the contributions from the lake, the country as a whole would be 
back in the position which it occupied in 1886, with about 10,000,000 
tons total production. 

In general, if we look back to 1860 and take time by decades, we 
may say that to-day the production is twenty times what it was in 
1860; fifteen times what it was in 1870; eight times that of 1880; 
three and one-half times that of 1890; and twice that of 1900. We 
can not continue in the same ratio, but must ere long reach our 
zenith. 


Production of the Lolcc Superior ranges in millions of long tons. 



Total 

United 

States. 

Marquette. 

Menomi¬ 

nee. 

Gogebic. 

Vermilion. 

Mesabi. 

Cuyuna. 

1870 

3.8 

0.85 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 


1875 

4.0 

0.S8 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 


1880. 

7.1 

1.38 

0.52 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 


1882 

8.7 

1.83 

1.14 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 


1884 

7.7 

1.56 

0.89 

0.001 

0.06 

0.0 


1886 

10.0 

1.63 

0.88 

0. 75 

0.30 

0.0 


1888 

12.0 

1.92 

1.19 

1.43 

0.51 

0.0 


1890 

16.0 

2.86 

2.27 

2.91 

0.89 

0.0 


1892 

16.2 

2. S4 

2. 40 

3.06 

1.23 

0.03 


1894 

11.8 

1.93 

1.25 

1.52 

1.05 

1.91 


1896 

16.0 

2.42 

1.76 

2.10 

1.20 

3.08 


1898 

19.4 

2.99 

2.27 

2.55 

1.12 

4.83 


1900 

27.5 

3.94 

3.68 

3.10 

1.67 

8.16 


1902 

35.5 

3.73 

4.42 

3.68 

2.06 

13.08 


1904 

27.6 

2.46 

2.87 

2.13 

1.05 

11.67 


1906 

47. 7 

4.07 

4.96 

3.48 

1.79 

23.56 


1908 

35.9 

3.31 

2.90 

3.24 

0.92 

17. 72 


1910 

56.8 

4.63 

4.98 

4.74 

1.39 

30.57 


1912. 

55.1 

3.54 

4.46 

3.92 

1.45 

32.60 

0.37 

1014 

42.0 















A brief survey of the figures relating to the individual Lake 
Superior ranges will justify the following conclusions: The Mar¬ 
quette, Menominee, Gogebic, and Vermilion Ranges show a steady, 
normal increase in output, which is not startling nor one to cause, 
under ordinary circumstances, undue apprehension. Some signs of 
73839°— sm 191G-20 





























































294 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1916. 

declining output are manifest in the case of the Vermilion. The 
vast increase in the output of iron ore is due to the Mesabi Range, 
and from it in 1912 came nearly 60 per cent of the country’s total. 
A marked decline in available supply from the Mesabi would bring 
about a greater falling off in ore supply than any possible increase 
in the other Lake Superior ranges, or than the present sources of 
supply from other mining districts, could make good. The Mesabi 
Range is the key to the maintenance of the domestic supply at its 
present grade, and when it declines we must appeal to foreign sources 
to keep the iron and steel industry in its present position. 

YIELD OF THE ORES. 

Conditions vary greatly in different parts of the country; at 
different times; with different ores; and with the entrance of new 
sources of supply. It is a general truth that the richest ores are 
obtained in the early days of mining. As time passes and the in¬ 
dustry becomes firmly established, lower and lower grades come 
within the range of profit. Alabama Clinton ores gave much higher 
percentages when mined wholly above the permanent water level 
than they do now, when pursued below it. For many decades only 
lump ore, and much of that over 60 per cent iron, was produced 
by the magnetite mines of the eastern Adirondacks. To-day the 
greater portion of the ore goes first through a magnetic concentrator 
before it is shipped. In earliest years on Lake Superior hard, 
specular ore at 65 and above was sought. With improved facilities 
the grade came down to and below 60, but the soft ores found slight 
sale. Now the soft, earthy ores are the principal objects of mining, 
and the average grade is well down in the fifties. Important ship¬ 
ments of ore with percentages below 50 have been placed on the 
steamships. 

In the summer of 1875, Prof. Albert II. Chester, 1 an experienced 
chemist, visited the Lake Superior region in the endeavor to secure 
average samples from the stock piles of the larger mines, all, of 
course, at that time in the Marquette range and shipping hard, specu¬ 
lar ores. Four samples ranged from 61.01 to 66.83 and probably give 
a fair idea of the ore at that time sent away. Iron Mountain, Mo., 
ore ran 64.87; Lake Champlain magnetites, 56.01 to 62.68; Clinton, 
N. Y., fossil ore, 44.57, but yielded 43 in the furnace. 

In September, 1890, Geo. W. Goetz 2 published a tabulated series 
of analyses from the four older Lake Superior ranges, which, when 
averaged, afford the following values. To give a correct average, 
the analysis of each mine’s ore ought to be weighted with the output, 
and as the data for this calculation are not available, we must be 

1 Albert H. Chester, “ On the Percentage of Iron in Certain Ores.” Trans. Amer Inst 
Min. Eng., vol. 4, 219, 1875. 

* Geo. W. Goetz, “ Analyses of Lake Superior Iron Ores,” Idem, vol. 19, 59, 1890. 




OUTLOOK FOR IRON-KEMP. 


295 


content with the general significance of the results. On the whole, 
they supply us with trustworthy values. 


Range. 

No. of 
analyses. 

Maximum. 

Minimum. 

Average. 

Marquette. 

36 

69.77 

53.02 

62.33 

Menominee. 

23 

65.20 

52. IS 

60.00 

Gogebic. 

21 

65.45 

54.95 

62.09 

Vermilion. 

8 

67.54 

60.20 

64.50 



These figures represent the good old times when specular ore was 
almost the only one produced and before the soft ores began to be a 
serious factor. They are, however, significant, in that customary 
working percentages, such as these, very probably were not without 
their influence in the estimates of the life of the ranges, as set forth 
by several of the writers whose opinions were cited in the introduc¬ 
tion to this address. 

Raphael Pumpelly, in connection with the summaries of the Tenth 
Census, 1 estimated on the best and most comprehensive data which 
we have ever had, the general average of iron ores for the United 
States at 51.22 per cent iron. The maximum average percentage 
among the States was that of Missouri, 60.01 (but Michigan had 
59.57). The minimum was West Virginia, 37.92. Pennsylvania, the 
largest producer of ore in that year, gave 45.28. On the basis of ore 
production and pig-iron production, allowance being made for mill 
cinder, foreign ores, etc., John Birkinbine estimated for the Eleventh 
Census 2 an average of 51.27 for the country at large. An appreci¬ 
able error crept in, however, in assuming pig iron to be entirely iron, 
whereas it is only about 95 per cent or less metallic iron. We can 
hardly compare this figure with the one given by Prof. Pumpelly 
which was based on actual analyses of samples. If we credit the 
7,000,000 tons of pig iron, as used by Mr. Birkinbine, with 95 per 
cent iron, the average is 48.71, which indicates an appreciable falling 
off in yield in 10 years. 

General estimates of average percentages which will be trust¬ 
worthy are difficult to carry out on the basis of annual statistics of 
tons of ore and tons of pig iron. Foreign ores contribute to an 
appreciable degree, and their yield can only be estimated. Stocks 
of mined ore, stored at furnaces or mines at the end of a year, are 
naturally credited to that year, but they are not turned into pig 
iron until the following twelvemonth. Mill cinder is also a con¬ 
tributor of iron to the extent of a small percentage of the total. 
The data for all these corrections are not available for a long period 
of years, and, therefore, all could not be introduced in the following 


1 Tenth Census, vol. 15, 19, for the year 1879. 

2 Volume on Mineral Industries, p. 10. 



















296 


ANNUAL REPOET SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1916. 


estimates. The importations could, however, be deducted, and to 
them an average of 58 per cent iron has been arbitrarily assigned. 
The results obtained are so variable that, their significance is rather 
one of degree than of actual individual accuracy. The statistics are 
chiefly taken from the Mineral Resources for 1910, page T6. Long 
tons are used. 



United 
States 
iron ore 
in thou¬ 
sands 
of long 
tons. 

Imported 
ore in 
thou¬ 
sands 
of long 
tons. 

Pig iron 
in thou¬ 
sands 
of long 
tons. 

95 per 
cent pig 
iron, me¬ 
tallic 
iron, in 
thou¬ 
sands 
of long 
tons. 

Iron in 
imported 
ores at 
58 per 
cent in 
thou¬ 
sands 
of long 
tons. 

Net iron. 

Average 
percent 
of ore. 

Esti¬ 
mated 
by E. C. 
Eckel, 
“Iron 
Ores,” 
page 
358, 
1914. 

1870. 

3,832 


1.678 

1,594 


1,594 

41.6 


1875. 

LOIS 

7,120 

56.6 

2,040 

1/J38 

3,612 

3,874 

33 

l'9C3 

47.3 


1880. 

493 

3,802 

286 

3; 326 
3,647 
7,930 

46.7 


1885. 

7' 600 

391 

4,077 

9,203 

227 

48.0 


1890. 

i16,302 

1,247 

8,653 

723 

48.6 

56.50 

1895. 

i17,203 

524 

9,446 

8,974 

304 

8,670 

50.4 

54.95 

1900. 

126,722 

898 

13,789 

13 ; 100 

521 

12,579 

47.1 

51.55 

1905. 

143,433 

846 

22; 992 

21,842 

491 

21,351 

49.1 

53.19 

1910. 

i 55,246 

2,591 

27,304 

25,939 

1,501 

24,439 

44.2 

49.42 

1912. 

158,031 

2,104 

29,727 

28,241 

1,220 

27,021 

46.5 

51.46 


1 These totals are the apparent iron ore consumptions as given in the Mineral Resources, United States 
Geological Survey, for 1912, p. 162. They differ from the totals of production in the previous tables 
because corrected for unsmefted stocks, exports, and zinc residuum. No correction is made for mill 
cinder. 

The variations shown above are so pronounced as to cast some 
doubt upon the accuracy of the individual percentages, but we may 
have some confidence in the general tendencies shown. We can not 
but be impressed with the apparent practice of the mining companies 
of using lower grade ore in good times, as shown by high produc¬ 
tion, and saving higher-grade ores for bad years. So far as recent 
years are concerned, we can only say that the general grade has de¬ 
clined, although it does not appear to be as low as it was in 1870, 
when the brown ores of the East were so large a factor in produc¬ 
tion. It must be to-day well below 50 per cent. 

In the last column, and for the years beginning with 1890, are 
given calculations of average yield, prepared by E. C. Eckel in his 
valuable manual on “ Iron Ores,” published in 1914. The same 
figures for apparent iron ore consumption have been used as in the 
calculations given in the first column of the present table; that is, 
the total annual production has been increased by imports and by 
zinc residuum (i. e., used for spiegeleisen by the New Jersey Zinc 
Co.), and diminished by exports and by stocks on hand at the close 
of the year. The zinc residuum is only 0.2 to 0.4 per cent of the 
total and makes little difference. But a decided difference arises in 
calculating the yield of American ores if one assumes that pig iron 
is pure iron, and lets the much richer importations of foreign ores 
enter into the calculation. These last two elements in the problem 
explain the wide divergence in percentages of from 4 to nearly 8 
per cent between the average values given in this paper and those 





































OUTLOOK FOR IRON—KEMP. 


297 


quoted by Mr. Eckel. Both calculations depart from the truth in 
so far as mill cinder, blue billy, scrap iron, etc., enter into the prob¬ 
lem, since no account has been made of them. Of course, there is 
also a slight loss of iron in blast-furnace cinder. 

The great importance of the decline in yield is the vastly increased 
amount of reserves which are thereby brought within the range of 
mining. As the average may still further decline until it reaches, 
say, 35 per cent, the reserves, as figures to be given later will show, 
become enormous. Thirty-five per cent, however, is by no means an 
unreasonable figure for the general yield of the Jurassic ores in the 
Lorraine and Luxembourg districts, which so largely supply Belgian, 
French, and German furnaces. The same statement w T ill apply to 
the Cleveland district in England. The great reserves of 35 per cent 
ore in the Lake Superior district are, however, highly siliceous, 
whereas the Jurassic ores are basic. In Silesia, in southeastern Ger¬ 
many, even lower percentages are not esteemed beyond the possibili¬ 
ties. Thirty-five per cent is therefore a not unreasonable figure to 
consider, when a long look ahead is taken. On the other hand, in 
comparing the yield of the ores in different lands, a distinction should 
be made between exporting and smelting countries. Exporting coun¬ 
tries necessarily must furnish high-grade ore, so as to meet freight 
charges incident to long transportation. 

ESTIMATES OF RESERVES. 

Since 1905, several estimates of reserves have been made, of which 
condensed summaries may be cited. 1 The amounts are in millions of 


long tons. 

1905. Tbrnebohm: 

Lake Superior_1, 000 

Alabama _ 60 

Elsewhere_ 40 


1, 000 

1907. E. C. Eckel: 

Lake Superior_ 1, 500-2, 000 

Alabama red ore_1, 000 

Alabama brown ore_ 75 

Georgia red ore_ 200 

Georgia brown ore_ 125 

Tennessee red ore_ 600 

Tennessee brown ore- 225 

Virginia red ore- 50 

Virginia brown ore- 300 


4, 075-4, 575 

Southern reserves for the remote future were estimated at 
10,000 million tons. 


1 The figures as given for Tornebohm, Eckel and ButlerBirkinbine are cited from E. C. 
Eckel, “ Iron Ores,” 341-351, 1914. 





















298 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1010. 


1909. Butler-Birkinbine: 

Luke Superior_1, 018 

Southern States_1, 814. 9 

New York_ 750 

New Jersey_ 135 

Pennsylvania _ 45 

Rocky Mountain region_ 100 


4, 462. 9 

1911. Minnesota-Micliigan Tax Commission, J. B. Finlay, engineer: 


Minnesota and Michigan_1, 584 

1912. E. C. Eckel: 

Lake Superior_ 2, 000-2, 500 

Northeastern _ 300- 600 

Western _ 300- 700 

Birmingham _ 1, 500-2, 000 

Texas_ 600-1, 000 

Other Southern States_ 500- 750 


5, 200-7, 550 

The most complete of all the estimates is that of Dr. C. W. Hayes 
in Bulletin 394 of the United States Geological Survey, 1909. The 
estimates are divided into two classes of ores; first, those available 
under present conditions; and second, those which come within rea¬ 
sonable possibilities of utilization for the future. The statistics are 
given in long tons in millions and decimals of a million. 


Districts. 

Magne¬ 

tite. 

Specular 
and red 
hema¬ 
tite. 

Clinton 

ore. 

Brown 

ore. 

Carbon¬ 
ate ore. 

Total. 

Available ores: 

Northeastern. 

1G0.0 

12.5 

2.0 

8.0 

3,500.0 

15.0 

4.3 

35.0 

463.5 

10.0 

11.0 

54.4 


208.0 
538. 4 
3,510.0 
315.0 

57.8 

68.9 

Southeastern. 


Lake Superior. 


Hinas Valley. 


300.0 

2.0 


Rockv Mountains. 

51.5 

68.9 



Pacific Slope. 



Total. 





292.9 

3,529.3 

508.5 

367.4 


4,698.1 

90.0 

Titaniferous magnetite considered 
available by Dr. Hayes. 


Not available ores: 

Northeastern. 

211.5 
23.0 
4,525.0 

2.0 

53.0 

67,475.0 

10.0 

2.1 

10.0 

620.0 

970.5 

30.0 

13.5 

168.0 

248 

62 

4,788.1 

1,095.0 

1,276.5 

72,030.0 

570.0 

120.6 

23.9 

Southeastern. 

Lake Superior. 

Mississippi Valley. 

560.0 

1.6 

.1 


Rocky Mountains. 

116.9 

13.8 



Pacific Slope. 



Total. 



4,890.2 

67,552.1 

1,620.5 

743.2 

310 

75, U6.0 



In the last group of ores I have included Dr. Hayes’s estimates of titaniferous magnetite without sepa¬ 
rate classification. 













































































OUTLOOK FOR IRON-KEMP. 


299 


The estimates for the Eleventh International Geological Congress 
were grouped in a somewhat different manner, as follows: 



Avail¬ 

able. 

Probable 

addition. 

Archean magnetites: 

Lump ores. 

20.0 
40.0 
2.0 
40.0 
65.0 
10.0 
505.3 
27.5 

30.0 

10.0 

2.0 

Concentrates. 

Adirondack red hematites. 

Pennsylvania soft magnetites. 

Cambro-Ordovician brown hematites. 

181.0 

15.0 

1,368.0 

27.5 

308.0 

72,000.0 

5.0 

45.0 

520.0 

55.0 

Mesozoic and Tertiary brown hematites.... 

Clinton red hematites. 

Alabama gray and red hematites. 

Carbonate ores. 

Lake Superior hematites. 

3,500.0 
15.0 
30.0 
2C0.0 
63.8 

Mississippi Valley specular and red hematites. 

Mississippi Valley Palaeozoic brown hematites. 

Mississippi Valley Tertiary brown hematites. 

Cordilleran magnetites and hematites. 

Titaniferous ores. 

4,578.6 
90.0 

74,566.5 

128.5 



As shown earlier, the annual production in recent years has 
totaled between 50 and 60 millions of tons. Let us assume that 
it will be 60 millions in the near future. Dr. Hayes’s estimates 
indicated practically 4,800 millions of tons of available reserves 
or eighty years’ supply. The estimates for the International 
Geological Congress of 19 10 Tre~not appreciably different. By 
just so much as the annual production exceeds the amount of 60 
millions, will the time be shortened, except in so far as further 
exploration opens up new reserves. In mining enterprises in gen¬ 
eral, however, if the management of a company felt that it had 
eighty years fairly well assured, it would congratulate its stock¬ 
holders on the outlook. This attitude of mind would be justified by 
the common experience in mining the ores of such a widely dis¬ 
tributed metal as iron, that new reserves open up in old or new 
properties as old supplies are exhausted. 

On the other hand, if we anticipate the general decline in the yield 
of ores, so that lower and lower grade reserves may be brought in; 
and if we assume that more tons of ore will be required to furnish 
the usual output of pig iron, such that the annual output of ore may 
reach 100 millions; then from the probable addition of reserves, 
given in the second column of estimates, we forecast from practi¬ 
cally 75,000 million tons a life of 750 years. That iron could be 
produced in these amounts and for this period of time, there can be 
no doubt, if we omit consideration of cost and if we only consider 
possible ores down to 35 per cent. Iron-bearing rocks of still lower 
percentages are so abundant as to be inexhaustible. No one need feel 
anxiety about the physical possibility of producing iron up to the 
conceivable life of the race on the planet. 




























300 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1916. 

In earlier pages, the point was emphasized that the crux of the 
present situation lies in the Mesabi Range of Minnesota. Of the 
55.1 million tons produced in 1912, 32.6 millions came from it. The 
chief point of immediate interest, therefore, is concerned with the 
life of the Mesabi. Its decline means great rearrangements in the 
present situation in the iron industry. The most recent estimates are 
those of C. R. Van Hise, C. K. Leith, and W. J. Mead, in cooper¬ 
ation, as given in Monograph 52 of the United States Geological 
Survey, 1911. Fifty per cent of iron in the dried ore is assumed as 
the minimum average yield at the time the estimates were made; 
1,600 millions of tons were then credited to the Mesabi (p. 489). The 
output for 1910, for this range, was 30.57 millions, indicating a life 
of a little over 50 years. At the production of 32.6 millions for 
1912, a life of almost exactly 50 years is shown. If, on the other 
hand, a minimum percentage of 35 in iron is considered, the same 
authors assign to the Mesabi Range reserves of 30,000 million tons 
(p. 492), which would give us 300 years of life, even at 100 million 
tons annual output. 

The authors of Monograph 52 also discuss the reserves of the en¬ 
tire Lake Superior region. The reserves of 50 per cent ore, in the 
other ranges than the Mesabi, are less than one sixth its amount, and 
their combined output about two-fifths its total. Their estimated life 
is thus much shorter. The time period lies between 20 and 25 years. 
When, however, we consider a minimum yield of 35 per cent, their 
combined reserves are greater than those of the Mesabi, and are 
estimated at 37,630 millions of tons. If we credit them with two to 
three times their present annual output, a life of fully 1,000 years 
is shown. 

Thus one can attack the problem from various points of view, 
and with varying assumptions; but the conclusion is inevitable that 
the output of ore from the Lake Superior region can not be kept 
up at the present production and with a minimum yield of 50 per 
cent for as much as 50 years, unless unanticipated new discoveries of 
rich ore are made. With diminishing yield, however, and with the 
tenor still at percentages above 35, the shipments of iron ore, even 
in increasing amounts, can be maintained for centuries. 

Let us turn next to Alabama and its closely related States, Georgia 
and Tennessee; since, together, they constitute the second center of 
ore production. The great reserves lie in the Clinton ores, which 
are well stratified and which have been and will be explored by bore 
holes. The reserves are much increased by the brown ores of the 
region and of northwestern Alabama, and by the probable devel¬ 
opment of much older gray and red hematites in eastern Alabama; 
but attention will be alone directed at this point to the Clinton ores. 
The latter are so well stratified and persistent and are now proved 


OUTLOOK FOR IRON-KEMP. 


301 


by such extensive exploration that with much confidence we may 
credit them, at least in the Birmingham region, with 36 to 37 per 
cent iron, and may consider the estimates of reserves as unusually 
trustworthy. Dr. C. W. Hayes, on the basis of the careful field 
work of C. F. Burchard, 1 estimated them at the following amounts 
in millions of tons. 



Available. 

Not 

available. 

Tennessee, Georgia, and northeast Alabama. 

86.5 

440 

Birmingham district, Alabama. 

358.5 

438 


Total. 

445.0 

878 



Mr. E. C. Eckel had previously credited the Birmingham district 
with 1,000 million tons, a number not unduly above the sum of 
the two figures for Birmingham given above. The officers of the 
Tennessee Coal & Iron Co. considered, in 1909, in round numbers 
500 million tons as reliably assured. 

The combined output of these three States in Clinton ore was 
practically 1 millions of tons in 1912, indicating at this rate 111 years’ 
life assured, and over 200 years’ additional life as probable. In 
these estimates we do not assume an essential falling off in the 
yield of the ores below percentages actively mined to-day. 

Were we to take up the figures for the other portions of the 
country very similar results would be reached. But, as their con¬ 
tributions are proportionately smaller, the effects of rearrangements 
are less serious. Obviously, in a general way, viewing the country 
at large, and allowing for reasonable decline in yield, the ore supply 
is good for seA^eral centuries. 

FOREIGN SOURCES OF SUPPLY. 

The vield in the furnace is certain to be maintained, in an im- 
portant manner, by importations of rich ores from abroad. These 
contributions are already a serious factor, since they amounted to 
2.1 million tons in 1910, and had reached 2.5 millions in 1912, rang¬ 
ing between 3.5 and 4.6 per cent of the total. 

Cuba .—The most accessible and the heaviest contributor of ore is 
Cuba. The mines in the vicinity of Santiago, on the southeastern 
coast, have been shipping for 20 years amounts which annually 
range below and above a half million tons of magnetite, with some 
hematite mechanically intergrown. The ores now run from 55 to 
60 per cent in iron and are of Bessemer grade. For some years addi¬ 
tional, these contributions will continue. The great and enduring 


1 Bulletin Xo. 394, U. S. Geol. Survey, pp. 88-89, 1909 ; No. 400, pp. 129-133, 1910. 














302 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. 

reserves, however, are on the northeastern coast or near it. Exten¬ 
sive areas of serpentine have weathered in the tropical climate so as 
to afford a heavy mantle of alteration products, which when freed 
of absorbed water yield 48 per cent iron, with about 1 per cent 
nickel and 1 to 2 per cent chromium. When freed of additional com¬ 
bined water in calcining furnaces the ore reaches 56 per cent iron. 
The Mayari tract, already actively mined, can yield 600 million tons 
of excellent nickel-bearing Bessemer ore. The undeveloped Moa and 
San Felipe (or Cubitas) districts can swell the reserves to 2,000 
million tons. Thus, as the output of the mines in the United States 
falls lower and lower below present percentages, more and more can 
the grade be kept at or near the above values by Cuban contributions 
to furnaces near the Atlantic seaboard. The supply of Cuban ores 
is sufficient to last several centuries, at any reasonable consumption 
of conceivable importations. They are very conveniently situated 
for low costs of mining and shipping. 

Sweden .—In recent years, the second contributer to American fur¬ 
naces has been Sweden. The supplies have come from the great mag¬ 
netite body at Kiruna, in Swedisli Lapland. The ore reaches the sea 
at Narvik in Norway, a port open all the year round, and distant from 
the mines 100 miles by rail. A generally high phosphorus ore is now 
mined, with a small proportion of rich Bessemer grade. The output 
is sorted into different grades, possessing from 59 to 69 per cent iron, 
with perhaps a general average of 65. Importations in 1912 into this 
country were practically 334,000 tons. The output of the mines is 
carefully regulated by the Swedish Government with the purpose of 
conserving the supply for a long life. The United States can not an¬ 
ticipate more than a moderate contribution from this source. 

Norway .—In Norway, not far from the sea and adapted to mag¬ 
netic concentration, there are additional deposits which are possibili¬ 
ties for the future. One enterprise is already active on the extreme 
northeastern frontier of Norway, east of the North Cape. The Eu¬ 
ropean furnaces have, however, absorbed the output hitherto. 

Newfoundland .—The third source of importations, in recent years, 
has been Newfoundland. The shipments come from the red hema¬ 
tite mines on Bell Island in Conception Bay. The ores are beds of 
red hematite in Cambrian and Ordovician strata and are strongly 
reminiscent of the Clinton ores. They suppty a non-Bessemer ore of 
50 per cent, or slightly less, in iron, and in their best years have ex¬ 
ported over 200,000 tons to the United States. The reserves which 
run beneath the sea are estimated by J. P. Howley at over 3,000 mil¬ 
lions of tons. The ores are generally called the Wabana. With a 
sea voyage of 1,100 to 1,500 miles, they can reach our principal ports 


OUTLOOK FOR IRON-KEMP. 303 

of entry. Their chief markets, however, are the iron and steel cen¬ 
ters of Nova Scotia. 

Chile .—The Panama Canal has made accessible one great deposit 
or iron ore on the west coast of Chile, called the Tofo. Tofo is 30 miles 
north of Coquimbo. The ores are only three or four miles from the 
sea. The Bethlehem Steel Co. is making extensive preparations for 
shipments on a large scale in the immediate future. Published de¬ 
scriptions mention reserves of 100 million tons of ore ranging above 
and somewhat below 60 per cent and prevailingly of Bessemer grade. 
A possible annual output of 1.5 to 2 millions of tons is expected. 
(Iron Age, May 11, 1914.) Other deposits along the west coast of 
South America have been reported in an incomplete way, but are not 
yet sufficiently developed to seriously enter into our forecasts. 

Brazil .—For some years past reports have been current of very 
large, rich, low-phosphorus deposits of specular hematite in the State 
of Minas Geraes, Brazil. They constitute beds in metamorphic sedi¬ 
ments of pre-Cambrian 'age, and appear some three hundred and 
seventy-five miles from the seacoast.. Deposits of hard specular 
hematite and loose blocks on the surface are available in enormous 
quantity. The first estimates, for the Eleventh International Geo¬ 
logical Congress, by Orville A. Derby, the able State geologist of 
Brazil, gave 2,000 million tons. Since then the observations of Leith 
and Harder indicate more than three times this amount. Vast quan¬ 
tities run between 65 and 70 per cent in iron and are well within 
Bessemer limits. The chief handicap lies in the long railway haul to 
the sea. While railways tap the district, both from Kio Janeiro and 
Victoria (the latter the probable port of future shipments), the 
present roadbeds are not adapted to the hard wear and tear of a 
heavy iron ore traffic and must be rebuilt. 1 Once on shipboard, the 
distance to Atlantic ports is about 4,000 miles. 

Europe and Africa .—The United States also import appreciable 
amounts of ore from Spanish, Algerian, and Grecian ports. Spain is 
the chief contributor, approximately 440,000 tons reaching Atlantic 
ports in 1910. To some extent, therefore, declining American per¬ 
centages may be raised by future shipments from these sources, yet 
as time passes British and continental needs will be even more press¬ 
ing than American and will call more insistently for supplies from 
European and northern African mines. 

The possibilities of importation and sale turn, however, upon mar¬ 
ket conditions. Through the kindness of Mr. Charles F. Rand, presi¬ 
dent of the Spanish-American Iron Co., the following figures have 

1 The latest account is by E. C. Harder, “ The Iron Industry of Brazil,” Transactions 
of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. 




304 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1016. 

been supplied the writer. They summarize market conditions and 
ocean freights as they have prevailed in recent years: 

Ocean freight from Cuba is 95 cents a ton; from Wabana, New¬ 
foundland, TO cents; from Brazil, $2.12£ (i. e., 8s. 6d.) ; from Sweden, 
$1.50; from Spain, $1.37£; from North Africa, $1.25; from Chile, $3. 
When the ore reaches American ports, it brings as a general rule T 
cents a unit, although specially rich and pure varieties may com¬ 
mand 8 cents. From these data, in a general way, one can see the 
market conditions which must be met by an exporter of ore from any 
one of the countries which are the chief contributors to American 
furnaces. Ocean freights, for some time to come, certainly will not 
be less than in recent years, even when seagoing bottoms can be 
secured. 

THE SUPPLY OF COKE. 

So long as iron ore is turned into pig iron as the first step toward 
steel, as in our present-day practice, coke will be no less vital to the 
industry than ore itself. The relatively great height of a modern 
stack and the heavy burden of charge which rests upon the still 
burning fuel demand strong and resistant coke. Not every coke will 
answer. From an address by Mr. J. E. Johnson before the Mining 
and Metallurgical Society of America, January 12, 1915, the fol¬ 
lowing figures are taken: From 52 per cent iron ore a ton of pig iron 
may be made with 1 ton of coke. These conditions are approxi¬ 
mately those of Lake Superior ores to-day. From a 38 per cent ore, 
a ton of pig requires 1| tons of coke, conditions approximately those 
of Alabama. Should we ever use 25 per cent ore, 2} tons of coke 
will be necessary to the ton of pig. Whatever may be said, therefore, 
regarding the coke supply to-day will appty with increasing force 
as the years pass and the yield of ores declines. Anthracite coal has 
been, to a certain extent, used in the iron furnaces, but its desirability 
and increasing price for household fuel and for steam purposes in our 
Eastern cities make it a factor in future iron metallurgy of diminish¬ 
ing importance. Open-burning bituminous coal has been used raw 
to some extent, but is not now a serious factor. 

The following table summarizes the bituminous coal reserves as 
calculated by M. R. Campbell, of the United States Geological Sur¬ 
vey, and as given in the Mineral Resources of the United States for 
1910, page 28. Only eastern coke-producing States are selected be¬ 
cause the present effect of Rocky Mountain States upon the total 
result is not great. The influence which they can exercise upon the 
future is small or remote. The same is true of the Pacific coast 
and its possible future industry in iron and steel. In the table the 


OUTLOOK FOR IRON—KEMP. 


305 


total bituminous coal reserves have been reduced by an arbitrary 
fraction, which is assumed to represent the portion of coking grade 
suitable to blast-furnace use. Much difference of opinion might 
arise over this reduction. Its importance turns, however, upon the 
ultimate result; that is, if the supply of coke proves to be a less 
serious matter than the supply of ore, these fractions might vary 
widely and yet not destroy the reliability of the final result. In the 
further calculations I assume that two-thirds of the coal can be 
ultimately mined, one-third being left in pillars. In passing from 
coal to coke, I use the same percentages of yield for each of the 
States as are given in the Mineral Resources of the United States 
Geological Survey for 1912, Part II, page 251. The estimates are, 
moreover, within the probable reserves in this additional respect 
that no account is taken of Illinois, although its weak coking coals, 
when mixed with others in by-product ovens, give suitable fuel for 
blast-furnace use. 

Reserves of bituminous coal of coking grade in millions of long tons. 



Total 

bitumi¬ 

nous. 

Fraction for 
coking. 

Two- 

thirds 

mined. 

Per 

cent. 

Coke. 

Pennsylvania. 

109,174 

i=27,300 
^5= 8,515 
1 = 1,950 

18,200 

5,676 

1,300 

66.5 

12,100 
3,927 
855 


85,156 
7,802 
22,391 
149,120 
67,687 
36,104 
25,509 
920 

69.2 

Maryland. 

65.8 

Virginia. 

1= 7', 464 
i=37,350 
6 , 768 
*= 3,610 
i= 6,377 
|= 460 

4; 976 
24,900 
4,512 
2,406 
4, 251 

62.2 

3,095 

15,114 

2,815 

1,501 

2,295 

153 

West Virginia. 

60.7 

"Rastern TCpnt.ncky . 

62.4 

Western Kentucky. 

62.4 

Tennessee. 

54 

Georgia . 

306 

50 

A lahamn. 

68,594 

1=20,865 

13,910 

64.9 

9,027 



572,457 

120,659 

80,437 


50,882 


The production of pig iron by States in 1912—the maximum year 
as yet—is given in the statistics in the next table in millions of long 
tons. The figures are taken from the Mineral Resources for 1912 of 
The United States Geological Survey. If we assume that the coke 
consumption per ton of pig iron is one ton in those States where 
Lake Superior ores or others equally rich are used, one and three- 
quarter tons in Alabama, and one and one-half tons in West Vir¬ 
ginia and Virginia we can make a rough estimate of the coke con¬ 
sumption for pig iron manufacture in a maximum year. 
























306 ANNUAL .REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1916. 

Pig iron production in millions of long tons, by States, 1912. 


Pennsylvania.. 

Ohio. 

Illinois. 

New York. 

Alabama. 

Indiana, Michigan. 

Missouri, Colorado, and California 

Tennessee.. 

Wisconsin and Minnesota.. 

West Virginia. 

Virginia. 

Maryland. 

Others. 


Tig iron. 

Coke con¬ 
sumed. 

12.55 

12. .55 

6.80 

6.80 

2.89 

2.89 

1.94 

1.94 

1.86 

3.25 

1.77 

1.77 

.40 

0 ) 

.84 

.60 

.30 

.30 

.27 

.40 

.26 

.39 

.22 

.22 

.12 

.15 

29.72 

31.26 


1 Omitted. 


We have thus an apparent available coke supply of 50,882 million 
tons, and a consumption for blast-furnace purposes, in our heaviest 
year of production, of 31.26 millions. There are thus over sixteen 
hundred years’ supply at this rate. In Pennsylvania, on the assumed 
'Taflo of coking coal, there is about one thousand years’ supply. These 
time periods are so great that despite possible errors in assumptions; 
despite increasing coke consumption with lowering of grade of ore; 
and despite increasing output of pig iron, we seem justified in con¬ 
cluding that the fuel supply is rather more abundant than the ore 
supply. The reserves of bituminous coal in 1912 were placed by the 
volume on Mineral Resources for that year at 1,651,057 millions of 
short tons of which two thirds or 1,100,705 millions of short tons 
could be mined. With an annual production, as in 1912, of 450 mil¬ 
lion tons, a life of nearly twenty-five hundred years would be indi¬ 
cated. Apparently coal for general fuel will last longer than coal 
for coke. 

THE INCREASING STOCK OF SCRAP IRON. 

Much of the iron or steel, once it is used, is lost by oxidation, wear 
and tear, or by being thrown away. A goodly proportion is, how¬ 
ever, returned to furnaces and worked over. For this purpose, in 
America, the electric furnace has proved of special advantage, as the 
writer learns from Prof. J. W. Richards. With growth of produc¬ 
tion and with increasing attention to the prevention of waste, now 
so generally manifested throughout the country, the return of old 
iron and steel for re-treatment is likely to ease somewhat the strain 
on the mines. 


IMPROVEMENT IN PROCESSES. 

Electrical processes of smelting, in regions of great water powers 
and low cost for current, have excited hopes of saving fuel. The 
























OUTLOOK FOR IRON-KEMP. 


307 


fuel in the blast furnace accomplishes two purposes—the production 
of a high temperature and the reduction of the iron oxide to the 
metallic state. The electric furnace could serve to replace the former 
portion, but carbon for the reduction of the iron oxide would always 
be nece ssary. Some heat, of course, would be developed in the re¬ 
act ionTIseTf, which practically implies the combustion of the carbon. 
If we assume a practicable electric furnace, comparable so far as the 
installation is concerned with a blast furnace, w 7 e have to balance 
against each other the cost of heat from combustion of coke and from 
electric current. Thus far coke has proved more economical, al¬ 
though it is conceivable that countries like Sweden and Norway, with 
abundant water power and ores, but without coal, might develop an 
electric smelting industry. Charcoal would probably then furnish 
the reducing agent. For some time to come, we can see little chance 
for electfiF^melting in eastern North America. 

Improvements are then reduced to those possible for the blast fur¬ 
nace itself. We are reminded of the great economies introduced by 
the chilling and separation of the moisture in the air to be used in the 
blast. A great debt is due Mr. James Gayley for this invention, 
which steadies the runping of the furnace and keeps conditions uni¬ 
form. We recall the use of the spent blast in internal-combustion 
engines, and the economical generation of power in this way instead 
of through the ordinary medium of steam. The power is then avail¬ 
able for all manner of applications around a works, and lowers costs. 
We note the recent and very encouraging experimental run of some 
months at the Port Henry, N. Y., furnace, with large proportion of 
titaniferous magnetite in the charge. The reports of Mr. J. E. 
Bachman, 1 in charge of the furnace, do much to remove the stigma 
from this variety of ore and to make available large reserves now 
looked upon with suspicion. By just so much as these neglected 
ores come into use the life of the nontitaniferous varieties will be 
prolonged. Dr. C. W. Hayes 2 estimated the titaniferous ores in 
1909 at 90 million tons available and 128.5 million tons as not at 
present available. Dr. J. T. Singewald 3 has concluded that in some 
of the areas used in the calculations of Dr. Hayes, the ores are too 
low for probable use. These ores have not been very generally ex¬ 
plored as yet because of their bad reputation, but the amount is 
quite certainly large. 

A remote possibility for improvements in the blast furnace but 
one worthy of careful consideration was suggested by Mr. J. E. 
Johnson in the address at the annual meeting of the Mining and 


1 The Iron Age, Oct. 22, 1914, p. 936; Dec. 24, 1914, p. 1470. A complete report is in 
press in the publications of the Iron and Steel Institute. 

2 C. W. Hayes, Bulletin 394, U. S. Geological Survey, p. 102, 1909. 

8 J. T. Singewald, Bulletin 64, Bureau of Mines, p. 38, 1913. 


# 










308 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1916. 


Metallurgical Society of America, January 12, 1915, which has been 
already cited. The air passing through the furnace is, by volume, 
nearly four-fifths inert nitrogen, which contributes nothing to the 
reactions and is a serious absorber of heat. Were it possible to 
relatively increase the proportion of oxygen, loss of heat might be 
avoided and fuel consumption reduced. Mr. Johnson called atten¬ 
tion to the production of greatly enriched proportions of oxygen 
by the expansion of liquid air under suitable control, as now used in 
practicable processes for obtaining oxygen on the one hand and 
nitrogen on the other. Were it possible with the low-cost power, 
to be developed by the products of the blast furnace, to manufacture 
liquid air or to produce in the same general way a strongly enriched 
oxygenated air for the intake, the volume of atmospheric gases 
would be greatly reduced and the heat economies would ensue. The 
contrast presented by employing the coldest substance known as a 
means of facilitating one of the hottest reactions of technical prac¬ 
tice is so novel as to arrest attention. Costs, however, should it ever 
become practicable, place it in the remote future. 

A more immediately practicable economy, involving the saving of 
waste, is the use of blast-furnace cinder for the manufacture of 
cement. By just so much as this ordinarily rejected product can be 
made a source of financial return, costs will be reduced. While we 
may not realize the whimsical ideal presented by Mr. Johnson in 
the above address, when he pictured the furnace of the future as 
yielding pig iron at the tap and cement at the cinder notch, yet we 
may think of slag utilization as helping to usher in the next age of 
the world, the one which is rapidly displacing the present steel age— 
the one which we all recognize as the inevitable age of cement. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

1902. Andrew Carnegie. Rectorial Address, University of St. Andrews, Oct. 
22, 1902, p. 36. 

J. Stephen Jeans. Staffordshire Iron and Steel Institute, Dec. 13, 1902. 
Iron and Coal Trades Review, voi. 65, pp. 1580, 1681. 

1905. R. A. Hadfield. Presidential Address in the Journal of the British Iron 

and Steel Institute, 1905, I, pp. 56-57, 59. 

N. S. Shaler. “ The Exhaustion of the World’s Metals,” International 
Quarterly, II, p. 230, 1905. 

Llewellyn Smith. A Blue Book of Iron Ore Deposits in Foreign Coun¬ 
tries, compiled for the London Board of Trade, 1905. 

A. E. Tornebohm. “ The Iron Ore Supply of the World,” Teknisk 
Tidskrift, Sept., 1905. The Iron Age, Nov. 2, 1905, pp. 1158-1160. 

1906. E. C. Eckel. “ A Review of Conditions in the American Iron Industry,” 

Engineering Magazine, June, 1906, p. 521; U. S. Geological Survey, 
Bulletin 2S5, pp. 172-179, 183-189, 1906. 

C. K. Leith. “ Iron Ore Reserves,” Economic Geology, I, p. 360, 1906. 


OUTLOOK FOR IRON—KEMP. 


309 


1909. J. G. Butler and John Birkinbine. Brief filed with the Finance Committee 

of the United States Senate in 1909 (cited in E. C. Eckel’s “ Iron Ores,” 
p. 347, in 1914). 

C. W. Hayes. “ Iron Ores of the United States,” in Papers on the Con¬ 
servation of Mineral Resources, Bulletin 394, U. S. Geological Survey, 
pp. 70-114. 

1910. James F. Kemp. “Iron Ore Reserves in the United States,” in “Iron 

Ore Reserves of the World,” vol. 2, pp. 753-778, Eleventh International 
Geological Congress, Stockholm, 1910. 

James F. Kemp. Discussion of the question: What shall the iron in¬ 
dustry of the future do for ore? Symposium of representatives of six 
chief producing nations, Sweden, Spain, France, Germany, Great 
Britain, and the United States, Eleventh International Geological Con¬ 
gress, Stockholm, 1910, Compte Rendu, I, 321-328. Mining Magazine, 
London, Nov., 1910, 363-367. 

1911. C. R. Van Hise, C. K. Leith, and W. J. Mead. “ Reserves in the Lake 

Superior District,” Monograph 52, U. S. Geological Survey, pp. 488- 
495, 1911. 

1914. E. C. Eckel. “ Iron Ores, Their Occurrence, Valuation, and Control,” 
p. 430, fig. 66, New York, 1914, especially pt. 4, pp. 339-427. 

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